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The artist was born Fülop László Donath (1895) but officially adopted by his widowed mother's second husband) and became Ladislav Peter Czettel .
He was the adopted son of Odon Czettel. He was a Hungarian Jew, born in Budapest on 12 March 1895. Vain and effeminate, he gave many the impression his birth year was 1904. He was recorded obtaining a pass to cross the western border of Austria at Feldkirch during WW1, was listed as a clothing supplier in Vienna, and became a German émigré who entered the USA from London in 1938. His half-brother (Imre Emerich Czettel, an actor) was killed in Belsen concentration camp, and he himself later committed suicide in New York (1949).
As already mentioned, early activities took him from Budapest to Paris and Vienna. There he made his first contacts as a costume designer (and sketch artist) in the theatre, especially in cabarets and vaudeville. Along the way, Ladislaus Czettel also designed costumes for the first time for (Austrian) films ("Miss Hobbs","Das Spielzeug von Paris"). From 1923 onwards, he appeared as a costume designer for revues at Viennese ("Ronacher" and Berlin ("Theater des Westens") venues. As artistic advisor to the Deutsches Theater in Berlin (1931/32) and its pendant in Munich (1932/33), he also collaborated with Max Reinhardt, whose production of Jacques Offenbach's "La belle Hélène" he designed with costumes at Berlin's Theater am Kurfürstendamm in 1931. In 1930, Czettel was also involved in the costume designs for the UFA film "Burglars" with Lilian Harvey and "Willy Fritsch".
He worked as a costume designer for the German film industry and the "Follies Bergères", and became the head costume designer at the Vienna Opera House.
As "Czettel of Vienna" in 1939 he emigrated to America and his arrival in New York was announced by an exhibition of his opera costume designs (reported in New York Times, 2nd November 1939; see photo). In tandem with designing costumes for the American film industry ("Pygmalion") and numerous Broadway shows, he became renowned as a dress designer for the stars. Immediately after WW2 he began producing clothing designs for large retail outlets. These days, his original drawings for clothing and theatrical costumes are highly collectible.
Films and plays on which he worked
- "Einbrecher" (1930) aka "Burglars" (English title) aka "Der Einbrecher" (Germany) aka "Murder for Sale" (USA)
- "Tagebuch der Geliebten" (1935) aka "Affairs of Maupassant" (USA) aka "Maria Baschkirtzeff" (Austria)
- "Diario di una donna amata", Il (1935) aka "Affairs of Maupassant" (USA)
- "Pygmalion (1938) (as Professor L. Czettel) aka Bernard Shaw's "Pygmalion" (UK: complete title)
- "Rosalinda" (1942-1944) [Original, Musical, Operetta] Costume Design by Ladislas Czettel
- "Helen Goes to Troy (1944) Play Costume Design by Ladislas Czettel
- "La Vie Parisienne" (1945) Revival, Musical, Comedy, Opera Costume Design by Ladislas Czettel Ladislaus Czettel (real name Fülop László Czettel / 12 March 1895 – 5 March 1949) was a Hungarian fashion designer, draughtsman and costume designer for stage and film. Born in Budapest, Czettel began working as a fashion designer shortly after the end of the First World War.
*Our additional images show some of Czettel's photographs and examples of his costume designs for film industry and fashion world.
Condition: In good condition; framed under glass
Creation Year: 1929
Measurements: UNFRAMED: 34,0x22,0cm/13,4x8,7in FRAMED: 54,0x42,0cm/21,3x16,5in
Object Type: Framed watercolor
Style: Art Deco
Technique: Watercolor on paper
Inscription: Signed and dated 1929
Creator: Ladislaus Czettel